sacramento, calif. (ap) — a california judge is allowing money laundering charges against the creators of a website that prosecutors have labeled an online brothel.prosecutors filed the new charges against backpage.com chief executive carl ferrer and website founders michael lacey and james larkin this spring.sacramento county superior court judge larry brown on wednesday dismissed pimping conspiracy and other allegations against backpage.com’s operators.but he allowed prosecutors to move forward with money laundering charges.most read storiesunlimited digital access. $1 for 4 weeks.prosecutors allege backpage’s operators illegally funneled money through multiple companies and created websites to get around banks that refused to process their transactions.brown ruled the other charges are

sacramento, calif. — california prosecutors can bring money laundering charges against the creators of a website that prosecutors label an online brothel, a judge ruled wednesday. but he dismissed other charges months after another judge threw out the entire case as violating free speech and federal protections.prosecutors filed new and expanded charges against backpage.com chief executive carl ferrer and website founders michael lacey and james larkin this spring. the three pleaded not guilty after the judge allowed the money laundering charges.sacramento county superior court judge larry brown also dismissed 15 pimping conspiracy and other charges against backpage.com's operators.he ruled that those charges relate to their publishing of sex-related advertisements and cannot be filed beca

oakland, calif. — since she was 14, tiffany says, she has been sold for sex, offered via hundreds of advertisements on backpage.com, a website that grew rich on classified ads for services like escorts, body rubs and exotic dancers. far from being a marketplace for consensual exchanges, backpage, authorities said, often used teasers like “amber alert” and “lolita” to signal that children were for sale.in the midst of a senate investigation, a federal grand jury inquiry in arizona, two federal lawsuits and criminal charges in california accusing backpage’s operators of pimping children, the website abruptly bowed to pressure in january and replaced its sex ads with the word “censored” in red.even so, tiffany — a street name — did not stop using the site, she said. instead, her ads moved to

oakland, calif. — since she was 14, tiffany says, she has been sold for sex, offered via hundreds of advertisements on backpage.com, a website that grew rich on classified ads for services like escorts, body rubs and exotic dancers. far from being a marketplace for consensual exchanges, backpage, authorities said, often used teasers like “amber alert” and “lolita” to signal that children were for sale.in the midst of a senate investigation, a federal grand jury inquiry in arizona, two federal lawsuits and criminal charges in california accusing backpage’s operators of pimping children, the website abruptly bowed to pressure in january and replaced its sex ads with the word “censored” in red.even so, tiffany — a street name — did not stop using the site, she said. instead, her ads moved to

dallas — recently discovered documents that seem to show that a contractor for the highly criticized classifieds website backpage.com solicited and created sex-related ads on behalf of the site go against often repeated claims by backpage that it's never had a role in creating or developing third-party content on its site.the documents seized from avion, a philippines-based company, show that avion worked to promote and create sex ads on behalf of backpage overseas. the documents reportedly show avion lured advertisers, and customers seeking sex, from sites run by its competitors, the washington post reported. the seizure and contents of the documents, connected to an unrelated lawsuit in kansas city, were first reported by nbc news.dallas-based backpage.com has long been labeled by author

the internet is being used to profit from child sex trafficking, and it has to stop.in january, the u.s. senate permanent subcommittee on investigations issued a report of its investigation into a company named backpage. the senate report linked backpage to child sex trafficking, citing evidence that backpage facilitated trafficking by actively writing content for ads, editing ads, and providing feedback on rejected ads in ways that encouraged and enabled advertisers to avoid terms that might trigger scrutiny by law enforcement authorities.on feb. 7, backpage was sued by human trafficking survivors and victim services organizations in orlando, fla., and phoenix. the complaints allege that backpage has made it easier for traffickers to sell their victims, who are often children. the complai

the mother of a 16-year-old chicago girl found dead in a markham garage on christmas eve has filed suit against backpage.com, the classified website where sex ads featuring the teen were allegedly posted.in a suit filed wednesday in cook county circuit court, yvonne ambrose, who said she believes her daughter desiree robinson was a victim of sex trafficking, alleges that backpage.com created an online marketplace for child sex traffickers. the suit also contends that the website facilitated child sex trafficking by assisting traffickers in the wording of their advertisements to avoid detection by law enforcement."backpage.com has made it too easy for sex traffickers, pimps and predators to hurt and target children like desiree robinson, and continues to do so to this day," said bhavani rav

the mother of a 16-year-old chicago girl found dead in a markham garage on christmas eve has filed suit against backpage.com, the classified website where sex ads featuring the teen were allegedly posted.in a suit filed wednesday in cook county circuit court, yvonne ambrose, who said she believes her daughter desiree robinson was a victim of sex trafficking, alleges that backpage.com created an online marketplace for child sex traffickers. the suit also contends that the website facilitated child sex trafficking by assisting traffickers in the wording of their advertisements to avoid detection by law enforcement."backpage.com has made it too easy for sex traffickers, pimps and predators to hurt and target children like desiree robinson, and continues to do so to this day," said bhavani rav

st. louis (ap) — backpage.com has filed a federal lawsuit aiming to block an investigation by missouri attorney general josh hawley who says the classifieds website promotes human trafficking via adult-oriented ads.the st. louis post-dispatch (http://bit.ly/2tiqz2t ) reports that the company says federal law and the first amendment bar attempts to shut down or censor the website. the company says it takes efforts to prevent illegal activity with warnings and filters that block and remove improper ads.the suit calls the investigation “enormously broad,” saying it requires “seven years’ worth of documents encompassing essentially all business operations of the company.”hawley’s office issued the investigative demand may 10.most read storiesunlimited digital access. $1 for 4 weeks.hawley desc

a wayzata pair suspected of running a national underage sex trafficking ring from the shores of lake minnetonka to california and hawaii, and concealing their crimes with a shell business, have been charged with several felonies.washington county prosecutors allege that ricky arlen turner, 28, and brittany marie harenza, 25, used the dating link on backpage.com to advertise girls and women for prostitution. they used social media to lure females into the business.turner, who was charged with five felony counts including sex trafficking and racketeering, remained in jail friday on $500,000 bond. harenza, charged with racketeering and engaging in business to conceal criminal proceeds, was released on bail thursday.police have found evidence that the pair may have operated in 14 states, accor

a minnetonka pair suspected of running a national underage sex trafficking ring from the shores of lake minnetonka to california and hawaii, and concealing their crimes with a shell business, have been charged with several felonies.washington county prosecutors allege that ricky arlen turner, 28, and brittany marie harenza, 25, used the dating link on backpage.com to advertise girls and women for prostitution. they used social media to lure females into the business.turner, who was charged with five felony counts including sex trafficking and racketeering, remained in jail friday on $500,000 bond. harenza, charged with racketeering and engaging in business to conceal criminal proceeds, was released on bail thursday.police have found evidence that the pair may have operated in 14 states, ac

sacramento — there’s a law enforcement paradox to backpage.com, labeled by officials as the largest u.s. internet prostitution ad provider.california prosecutors label the site an “online brothel” that rakes in millions of dollars from trafficking that often includes minors, want to shut it down and send its owners to jail. the site’s two founders and its top executive are due in court thursday to try to convince a judge to dismiss pimping, conspiracy and money laundering charges.but if prosecutors end up winning their case and backpage’s adult services section goes away for good after it was taken down in january, police and some victim advocates for children used as workers say they will lose an important tool to track and arrest predators.backpage, which also offers non-prostitution rel

a wayzata pair suspected of running a national underage sex trafficking ring from the shores of lake minnetonka to california and hawaii, and concealing their crimes with a shell business, have been charged with several felonies.washington county prosecutors allege that ricky arlen turner, 28, and brittany marie harenza, 25, used the dating link on backpage.com to advertise girls and women for prostitution. they used social media to lure females into the business.turner, who was charged with five felony counts including sex trafficking and racketeering, remained in jail friday on $500,000 bond. harenza, charged with racketeering and engaging in business to conceal criminal proceeds, was released on bail thursday.police have found evidence that the pair may have operated in 14 states, accor

a former st. francis high school football coach has been charged with attempting to solicit sex from a minor.tatum jacob hermann was charged thursday in hennepin county district court.hermann was arrested april 12 by maple grove police after he responded to an ad placed in the escort section of backpage.com by officers conducting a prostitution sting. he had sent several text messages to a police decoy who was posing as a 15-year-old girl and agreed to pay $100 for sex and bring a box of condoms, according to the charges.hermann, 39, was directed to a walmart parking lot, then told to go to an apartment building in the 9200 block of garland lane in maple grove. when he arrived, he was arrested.police found that hermann had the cellphone he used to communicate with the undercover officer, a

a former st. francis high school football coach has been charged with attempting to solicit sex from a minor.tatum jacob hermann was charged thursday in hennepin county district court.hermann was arrested april 12 by maple grove police after he responded to an ad placed in the escort section of backpage.com by officers conducting a prostitution sting. he had sent several text messages to a police decoy who was posing as a 15-year-old girl and agreed to pay $100 for sex and bring a box of condoms, according to the charges.hermann, 39, was directed to a walmart parking lot, then told to go to an apartment building in the 9200 block of garland lane in maple grove. when he arrived, he was arrested.police found that hermann had the cellphone he used to communicate with the undercover officer, a

sacramento, calif. (ap) — there’s a law enforcement paradox to backpage.com, labeled by officials as the largest u.s. internet prostitution ad provider.california prosecutors label the site an “online brothel” that rakes in millions of dollars from trafficking that often includes minors, want to shut it down and send its owners to jail. the site’s two founders and its top executive are due in court thursday to try to convince a judge to dismiss pimping, conspiracy and money laundering charges.but if prosecutors end up winning their case and backpage’s adult services section goes away for good after it was taken down in january, police and some victim advocates for children used as workers say they will lose an important tool to track and arrest predators.backpage, which also offers non-pro

a former st. francis high school football coach has been charged with attempting to solicit sex from a minor.tatum jacob hermann was charged thursday in hennepin county district court.hermann was arrested april 12 by maple grove police after he responded to an ad placed in the escort section of backpage.com by officers conducting a prostitution sting. he had sent several text messages to a police decoy who was posing as a 15-year-old girl and agreed to pay $100 for sex and bring a box of condoms, according to the charges.hermann, 39, was directed to a walmart parking lot, then told to go to an apartment building in the 9200 block of garland lane in maple grove. when he arrived, he was arrested.police found that hermann had the cellphone he used to communicate with the undercover officer, a

a chicago man faces a federal sex trafficking charge in the case of a 16-year-old girl found slain in a markham garage last christmas eve.joseph hazley, 33, was arrested early wednesday morning and charged with one count of sex trafficking of a minor, fbi spokesman garrett croon said.according to a federal criminal complaint filed tuesday, hazley trafficked the teen, identified in court documents as minor a, throughout december 2016, arranging multiple dates for commercial sex each day through the classified website backpage.com.the law firm representing the teen's mother identified minor a as desiree robinson.hazley allegedly posted ads for robinson on backpage.com, taught her how to communicate with customers, provided her with clothing to wear on dates, drove her to dates and acted as s

trafficking of women and s in the metro area continues to thrive despite backpage.com’s recent shutdown of its escort section, according to an investigation by the washington county attorney’s office.advertising in dating and romance categories on backpage.com soared nearly overnight as traffickers quickly adjusted to the demise of adult escort ads, said imran ali, washington county’s major crimes prosecutor.analysts in washington county attorney pete orput’s office tracked 74,273 ads that were placed in the metro area in 2016 on backpage.com. predators placed most of the ads, seeking customers for women and s who in many cases were forced into the illicit trade.“we know the sale of human beings in the twin cities metro area is unfortunately commerce,” ali said. “the new age of a predator

backpage.com, one of the world’s largest classified ad websites and a frequent target in the political battle against sex trafficking, closed its adult ads section monday in the united states, claiming to be the victim of a government witch hunt.the extraordinary move came shortly after the release...

a chicago man faces a federal sex trafficking charge in the case of a 16-year-old girl found slain in a markham garage last christmas eve.joseph hazley, 33, was arrested early wednesday morning and charged with one count of sex trafficking of a minor, fbi spokesman garrett croon said.according to a federal criminal complaint filed tuesday, hazley trafficked the teen, identified in court documents as minor a, throughout december 2016, arranging multiple dates for commercial sex each day through the classified website backpage.com.the law firm representing the teen's mother identified minor a as desiree robinson.hazley allegedly posted ads for robinson on backpage.com, taught her how to communicate with customers, provided her with clothing to wear on dates, drove her to dates and acted as s

a chicago man faces a federal sex trafficking charge in the case of a 16-year-old girl found slain in a markham garage last christmas eve.joseph hazley, 33, was arrested early wednesday morning and charged with one count of sex trafficking of a minor, fbi spokesman garrett croon said.according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed tuesday, hazley trafficked the teen identified in court documents as minor a, throughout december 2016, arranging multiple dates for commercial sex each day through the classified website backpage.com.the law firm representing the teen's mother identified minor a as desiree robinson.hazley allegedly posted ads for robinson on backpage.com, taught her how to communicate with customers, provided her with clothing to wear on dates, drove her to dates and acted as

a chicago man faces a federal sex trafficking charge in the case of a 16-year-old girl found slain in a markham garage last christmas eve.joseph hazley, 33, was arrested early wednesday morning and charged with one count of sex trafficking of a minor, fbi spokesman garrett croon said.according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed tuesday, hazley trafficked the teen identified in court documents as minor a, throughout december 2016, arranging multiple dates for commercial sex each day through the classified website backpage.com.the law firm representing the teen's mother identified minor a as desiree robinson.hazley allegedly posted ads for robinson on backpage.com, taught her how to communicate with customers, provided her with clothing to wear on dates, drove her to dates and acted as

a chicago man faces a federal sex trafficking charge in the case of a 16-year-old girl found slain in a markham garage last christmas eve.joseph hazley, 33, was arrested early wednesday morning and charged with one count of sex trafficking of a minor, fbi spokesman garrett croon said.according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed tuesday, hazley trafficked the teen identified in court documents as minor a, throughout december 2016, arranging multiple dates for commercial sex each day through the classified website backpage.com.the law firm representing the teen's mother identified minor a as desiree robinson.hazley allegedly posted ads for robinson on backpage.com, taught her how to communicate with customers, provided her with clothing to wear on dates, drove her to dates and acted as

the police chief of one of minnesota's most famous towns and two other men were snared in a sting that caught them trying to buy sex with minors, according to charges filed monday.michael r. zeug, 45, of walnut grove, was charged monday in redwood county district court with attempting to hire a minor for sex, a felony. zeug was arrested friday, and he remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail. court records do not list an attorney for him.through operation guardian angel, conducted by a regional drug task force and a human trafficking task force out of washington county, law enforcement officers posted online ads on backpage.com and craigslist.org "to identify those individuals who want to solicit minors for sex," said redwood county attorney steven s. collins.the news release announcing the

the police chief of one of minnesota's most famous towns and two other men were snared in a sting that caught them trying to buy sex with minors, according to charges filed monday.michael r. zeug, 45, of walnut grove, was charged monday in redwood county district court with attempting to hire a minor for sex, a felony. zeug was arrested friday, and he remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail. court records do not list an attorney for him.through operation guardian angel, conducted by a regional drug task force and a human trafficking task force out of washington county, law enforcement officers posted online ads on backpage.com and craigslist.org "to identify those individuals who want to solicit minors for sex," said redwood county attorney steven s. collins.the news release announcing the

closeskip in skipxembedxshare after two years of intense scrutiny from the u.s. senate and elsewhere, online ad-posting site backpage.com announced that it is shuttering its adult services section, which was repeatedly accused by critics of facilitating child prostitution and human trafficking. usa todayjim larkin (left) and michael lacey(p o: sacramento county sheriff's office) 37 connectlinkedinemailmorephoenix — a phoenix domestic-violence shelter filed a lawsuit tuesday against the website backpage.com and its founders, claiming the online marketplace created victims of trafficking that the shelter spent time and money housing and counseling.the lawsuit was filed by the sojourner center in the u.s. district court in arizona. it lists as defendants michael lacey and jim larkin, the two

closeskip in skipxembedxshare after two years of intense scrutiny from the u.s. senate and elsewhere, online ad-posting site backpage.com announced that it is shuttering its adult services section, which was repeatedly accused by critics of facilitating child prostitution and human trafficking. usa todayjim larkin (left) and michael lacey(p o: sacramento county sheriff's office) 37 connectlinkedinemailmorephoenix — a phoenix domestic-violence shelter filed a lawsuit tuesday against the website backpage.com and its founders, claiming the online marketplace created victims of trafficking that the shelter spent time and money housing and counseling.the lawsuit was filed by the sojourner center in the u.s. district court in arizona. it lists as defendants michael lacey and jim larkin, the two

closeskip in skipxembedxshare after two years of intense scrutiny from the u.s. senate and elsewhere, online ad-posting site backpage.com announced that it is shuttering its adult services section, which was repeatedly accused by critics of facilitating child prostitution and human trafficking. usa todayjim larkin (left) and michael lacey(p o: sacramento county sheriff's office) 37 connectlinkedinemailmorephoenix — a phoenix domestic-violence shelter filed a lawsuit tuesday against the website backpage.com and its founders, claiming the online marketplace created victims of trafficking that the shelter spent time and money housing and counseling.the lawsuit was filed by the sojourner center in the u.s. district court in arizona. it lists as defendants michael lacey and jim larkin, the two

closeskip in skipxembedxshare after two years of intense scrutiny from the u.s. senate and elsewhere, online ad-posting site backpage.com announced that it is shuttering its adult services section, which was repeatedly accused by critics of facilitating child prostitution and human trafficking. usa todayjim larkin (left) and michael lacey(p o: sacramento county sheriff's office) 37 connectlinkedinemailmorephoenix — a phoenix domestic-violence shelter filed a lawsuit tuesday against the website backpage.com and its founders, claiming the online marketplace created victims of trafficking that the shelter spent time and money housing and counseling.the lawsuit was filed by the sojourner center in the u.s. district court in arizona. it lists as defendants michael lacey and jim larkin, the two

closeskip in skipxembedxshare after two years of intense scrutiny from the u.s. senate and elsewhere, online ad-posting site backpage.com announced that it is shuttering its adult services section, which was repeatedly accused by critics of facilitating child prostitution and human trafficking. usa todayjim larkin (left) and michael lacey(p o: sacramento county sheriff's office) 38 connectlinkedinemailmorephoenix — a phoenix domestic-violence shelter filed a lawsuit tuesday against the website backpage.com and its founders, claiming the online marketplace created victims of trafficking that the shelter spent time and money housing and counseling.the lawsuit was filed by the sojourner center in the u.s. district court in arizona. it lists as defendants michael lacey and jim larkin, the two